Shares of Reliance Power are expected to remain in focus on Monday after rising nearly 5% on Friday, even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intensified its probe into the alleged multi-crore fraud case involving Reliance Communications and State Bank of India.
Deepening its investigation, the CBI has questioned three former senior executives of the Reliance Group led by Anil Ambani. The agency issued summons to Satish Seth and Gautam Doshi, both former group managing directors, in connection with a First Information Report (FIR) registered following a formal complaint by SBI.
The questioning comes after investigators examined a third former group managing director, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, who was reportedly questioned over three days ahead of Ambani’s scheduled appearance before the agency on March 19 and 20.
Seth, who earlier served as vice-chairman of Reliance Infrastructure and was also on the board of Reliance Telecom, was questioned alongside Doshi, who also served as a board member of the telecom firm.
Jhunjhunwala, a longtime associate of the group, previously held the position of vice-chairman at Reliance Capital. The three executives were key members of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group for more than 15 years and were earlier associated with the unified Reliance conglomerate before its high-profile corporate demerger.
Officials said the three have since moved on to independent ventures. Jhunjhunwala is currently an independent fund manager with operations in Dubai and Singapore. Seth is involved in real estate and software ventures, while Doshi heads a tax and mergers and acquisitions advisory firm and also serves on the boards of several companies.
When contacted, the Reliance Group declined to comment, stating that the individuals are no longer associated with the company.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of India had directed the CBI to register separate FIRs into complaints from different banks related to loans extended to companies linked to the Anil Ambani group. The investigation stems from allegations tied to loans given by SBI and other lenders to Reliance Communications.